COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONSIDERS SITUATION OF CHILDREN IN TIMOR-LESTE

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its review of the initial report of Timor-Leste on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It also examined initial reports submitted by Timor-Leste under the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Lúcia Maria Brandão F. Lobato, Minister of Justice of Timor-Leste, introducing the reports, said it was a fact that the report process for Timor-Leste had been a challenging one. As a young and poor nation, Timor-Leste had not had the benefit of pre-established machinery for data collection. Further, the development of policies remained highly dependent on the availability of resources. One aim for the near future was to make the National Commission for the Rights of the Child operational. It was expected that that would be achieved by June this year, and that would strengthen children's rights. Timor-Leste also needed a comprehensive and consistent legal framework to ensure the promotion and protection of the rights of the child. In that regard, there were a number of legal projects, including a Children's Code, which were currently at different stages of being drafted by the Council of Ministers.

Moushira Khattab, the Committee Expert serving as co-Rapporteur for the report of Timor-Leste, in preliminary concluding observations, noted that – even given the constraints facing Timor-Leste – it would need to implement immediately a minimum core package of measures. Such measures could not be confined to one or two areas but would by necessity be multisectoral. With children it could not be a question of health alone or birth registration or education alone, as each achievement would feed into each other. The Committee would expect Timor-Leste to start immediately to implement that core package. To do so, they would need to draw on assistance from international partners, including United Nations partners. In particular, Timor-Leste had to put in place urgently legislation to protect the child, whether or not they decided to implement a comprehensive Children's Code.

In additional preliminary observations, Yanghee Lee, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report on Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, said the Committee would expect Timor-Leste to formulate a specific provision to criminalize the recruitment of those under age 18. Birth registration, in particular, formed a critical part of the guarantee that children would not be recruited, and that was an area that needed to be worked on. Provision of assistance and counselling for former child soldiers was necessary and it was hoped that rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for such children would be put in place.

Also making preliminary remarks, Agnes Akosua Aidoo, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report on Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, recommended that the Government work very quickly to set up a database and gather information about children in this area. Recommendations would also be made on what legislation had to be adopted and implemented right away to give effect to the Protocol, in particular to cover the offences covered by the Protocol in the national Penal Code. Services also had to be put in place for the social, physical and psychological recovery of victims.

The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the initial reports of Timor-Leste, which were considered over the course of three meetings, at the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on 1 February 2008.

The delegation of Timor-Leste also included Sergio Hornai, Director of the Office of Public Defenders, Licíno Branco, Human Rights Officer with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Nelinho Vital, a Human Rights Officer with the Ministry of Justice of Timor-Leste.

As one of the 193 States parties to the Convention, Timor-Leste is obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to comply with the provisions of the treaty. The delegation was on hand throughout the three meetings to present the report and to answer questions raised by Committee Experts.

When the Committee reconvenes on Friday, 18 January, at 10 a.m., it will take up the initial report of Germany on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on children and armed conflict (CRC/C/OPAC/DEU/1).

Reports of Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste's common core country report (HRI/CORE/TLS/2007) states that despite significant achievements, Timor-Leste is still among the world’s poorest countries. In 2001, 40 per cent of the total population of 1 million was living on less than $ 1 per day. Although the fertility rate is perhaps the highest in the world, life expectancy is low and infant mortality high. Utilization rates for health services are low, and school repetition and dropout rates are high. Infrastructure and institutional and administrative capacity are limited, and the private sector faces significant legal and other constraints. The urban poor, particularly youth, face growing unemployment, while the rural poor face food insecurities and lack of social and economic infrastructure. Nationwide, something like three in four persons live without electricity, three in five without safe sanitation, and every other person is without safe drinking water. Concomitantly, there is a high incidence of preventable communicable diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, childhood respiratory infections and diarrhoeal diseases. While currently the Constitution guarantees an entitlement of “social assistance and security” to all citizens, the establishment of national social security and pension regimes is not within the immediate remit or capability of the Government.

The initial report of Timor-Leste (CRC/C/TLS/1) underlines that Timor-Leste’s recent history presents particular difficulties and challenges in meeting the obligations and standards of rights and protections for the child set out in the Convention. Nevertheless, these are also all areas in which significant progress has been. The Ministry of Education and Culture has commenced the drafting of a National Youth Policy, which is expected to be ready sometime in 2006, although the age definition of “youth” is yet to be determined. In Timor-Leste, a child is defined as being every human being under the age of 18 years. In addition, different legal minimum ages are prescribed in various domestic laws. The age of sexual consent is 15 years old for females and 18 for males, and the age of criminal liability and deprivation of liberty and imprisonment is 12 years old for serious crimes and 17 for minor crimes. In the legal context, the concept of respect for the views of the child does not appear to be well understood or used during judicial proceedings and it appears that the views of the child are rarely sought in establishing what may be in its best interests when making decisions relevant to it. In drafting new national legislation, standards and procedures, the respect for the views of the child has been taken into account. Of equal importance are the measures which the Government has taken to strengthen the capacity of children to formulate and express their views, including children’s input to and participation in recent events such as the Regional Conference on Violence against Children (Bangkok, June 2005).

In particular, the limited capacity of the domestic judicial system has not satisfactorily addressed cases of child abuse. Monitoring of court cases involving sexual and physical abuse of children have revealed irregularities in the definitions of criminal offences and corresponding sentences, insufficient attention paid to the fact that the victim was a minor, and “gender biased views that could prejudice the effective and sensitive handling of these cases”. One current concern is the provision within existing law that the sexual abuse of a girl aged under 15 years may only be prosecuted following a complaint by the child’s parents or guardians, except that the State may institute such cases independent of a parental complaint only if the perpetrator is the child’s parent or guardian, or if the sexual abuse results in physical injury or death. Importantly, rape is considered a public crime in the new draft Penal Code, which will mean that a complaint is not required to initiate judicial proceedings.

The initial report of Timor-Leste under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (CRC/C/OPAC/TLS/1) notes that during the period of resistance, many children engaged in military activities, on both sides of the conflict – that is, the Armed Forces for the Liberation of Timor-Leste (FALINTIL), pro-independence resistance and the Indonesian military and pro-Indonesian militia groups. On both sides, the age of child soldiers ranged from 10 to 18 years old, although most were between the age of 15 and 18. Accurate figures on the number of children combatants participating on either side are impossible to obtain. The relevant national law on this subject is the Organic Law of the FALINTIL-East Timor Defence Forces, which came into effect on 5 May 2004, and provides that the defence force shall be “exclusively made up of citizen volunteers”. As for former child soldiers, according to a 2001 UNICEF study, the FALINTIL leadership had “sent almost all soldiers under the age of 18 home to their villages and back to school. [There have] been no specific programmes aimed at assisting demobilised FALINTIL child soldiers in East Timor …”. Despite receiving little material assistance, former pro-independence child soldiers were reported as being “treated well by their communities, and receive respect for their involvement in the armed struggle". However, "those who are feeling disaffected and angry who have become involved in criminal activities are losing the respect of the public. ...These youth feel left out of the process of rebuilding the country that they fought for”.

The initial report of Timor-Leste under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (CRC/C/OPSC/TLS/1), says that the Government has been developing a new legislative framework, including a Penal Code, which would supersede the previously existing legislation that continues to apply. Nevertheless, in practice, the courts may not apply “previously existing” laws where they conflict with the Optional Protocol. There is little evidence of the sale of children in Timor-Leste. Nevertheless, in the course of the district-level consultative workshops in the preparation of the initial report, there were a couple of reports received from the participants that children were being offered for sale due to reasons of family poverty. With regard to child prostitution, it appears that the majority of minors engaged in commercial sex work are males, who work independently and on an evidently “voluntary” basis. The only known cases of child prostitution concern non-Timorese females. These matters were dealt with by repatriation. There are also anecdotal reports of child pornography, primarily concerning foreign and domestic video cassettes or DVDs portraying children. There is a current need for appropriate legislation and surveillance mechanisms of commercial outlets, street vendors and border entry points [for "pirate" DVDs]. The Police are also aware of the need to improve efforts in preventing child vendors on the streets from selling prohibited material and prosecute those persons who purchase and distribute pornographic products from/to minors.

Presentation of Reports of Timor-Leste

LÚCIA MARIA BRANDÃO F. LOBATO, Minister of Justice of Timor-Leste, said that this meeting was a milestone for Timor-Leste as a young nation with a strong commitment to human rights. It marked the successful submission of its first report and of its core country document, which made this an auspicious moment for Timor-Leste. Since gaining independence in 2002, Timor-Leste had endeavoured to place human rights at the very heart of the nation's development, and this was secured by the strong emphasis placed on human rights in the Constitution of Timor-Leste. In addition, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two Optional Protocols were acceded to in 2003, and the initial report submitted in 2007.

It was a fact that the report process for Timor-Leste had been a challenging one, Ms. Lobato underscored. As a young and poor nation, Timor-Leste had not had the benefit of pre-established machinery for data collection. Further, the development of policies remained highly dependent on the availability of resources. While Timor-Leste was fully committed to ensure children enjoyed their rights, there were many challenges that had to be overcome to ensure the success of that project.

One aim for the near future was to make the National Commission for the Rights of the Child operational. It was expected that that would be achieved by June this year, and that its establishment would strengthen children's rights. Timor-Leste also needed a comprehensive and consistent legal framework to ensure the promotion and protection of the rights of the child. In that regard, the Committee had recognized the need to mainstream the Convention's obligations into domestic legislation, and there were a number of legal projects, including a Children's Code, which were currently at different stages of being drafted by the Council of Ministers.

Ms. Lobato drew attention to the fact that, while human rights were central to Timor-Leste's struggle for independence and integral to its self-determination, Timor-Leste was still facing a lot of challenges as the newest country in the world – including violence, displacement, poverty, and a weak infrastructure and environment. To combat that, the Government was working to put in place legal structures, plans and policies. In particular, according to the Constitution of Timor-Leste, children had the right to special protections, especially against violence, discrimination, criminal violence and abuse. Even married children enjoyed the same rights and protections.

Questions by Experts

JEAN ZERMATTEN, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the Report of Timor-Leste, welcomed the submission of the initial report of Timor-Leste, which was a remarkable result for such a young State, Timor-Leste having only achieved independence in 2002. It was also worth underlining that Timor-Leste had decided to ratify the seven human rights treaties. This was the first time that the country was presenting a report under one of those Conventions.

Among positive achievements, Mr. Zermatten underscored the numerous new national laws, plans, organs, and campaigns, including the planned Children's Code; preparation of a draft Penal Code, Civil Code, law on adoption, law on education and employment law; the fact that Timor-Leste considered the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two Optional Protocols as an integral part of domestic law; and the manifest will to work with civil society, international organizations and non-governmental organizations. With regard to structural considerations, many projects and programmes had also been put in place, in particular, the establishment of a Central Civil Registry to facilitate birth registration; the creation of the Office of the Ombudsman, which had become operational in 2005; and the development of a Mother and Child Handbook to facilitate the role of parents in children's education and development.

Turning to questions, Mr. Zermatten wanted to know the exact legal status of the Convention in the law. Could it be invoked directly in the courts and were there any such cases on record? Also, had domestic law been harmonized with the Convention, was Timor-Leste planning to do so, and was there a need for technical assistance in this regard?

As far as national legislation was concerned, according to the report, the legal sources for Timor-Leste were manifold, some being new, some a legacy of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor, some going back to the Indonesian occupation, and some pertaining to Timor-Leste's Portuguese colonial past. There was also a distinction between customary law and civil law. In the Committee's view it was necessary for Timor-Leste to act urgently to clarify this situation, Mr. Zermatten stressed.

Mr. Zermatten welcomed the existence of a National Action Plan, "Vision 2020", which was linked to the Millennium Development Goals and with poverty reduction as one of the main goals. What was hard to understand in a concrete way was what the short and medium-term goals were for the plan, and what resources had been actually earmarked to implement it. The Committee felt that what was needed was a national action plan for the short-term, with clearly identified and verifiable goals.

Also, while welcoming the creation of the Ombudsman's Office, Mr. Zermatten wondered if there were any links between that institution and the planned Commission for the Rights of the Child with a Children's Rights Commissioner. It appeared that there was a confusion of duties between these two bodies. In terms of the Ombudsman's Office, was there any special concentration on children's rights within the Office and could children directly contact the Ombudsman's Office to complain of a violation of their rights? Were there any branches of the Ombudsman's Office in the provinces?

MOUSHIRA KHATTAB, the Committee Expert serving as co-Rapporteur for the report of Timor-Leste, acknowledged the achievements of Timor-Leste and the fact that this meeting was a milestone for that young country. She also thanked them for a very frank report, one which did not shy away from identifying problems and challenges. Nevertheless, for her it was clear that children's rights were not a priority for the Government. In particular, there was an urgent need to instate a comprehensive Children's Code that united and unified the law with regard to children.

As for new government machinery, the news that the national Commission for the Rights of the Child would start in June 2008 was welcome. With regard to the Ombudsman's Office, however, she was concerned about the independence of that office and asked what guarantees had been put in place to ensure that.

What was the situation of international cooperation in the field of children's rights, Ms. Khattab asked? When getting assistance, who decided how it would be allocated? Today, most donors insisted that their assistance have a human rights dimension, and she asked for details about the human rights component of programmes funded with international cooperation.

Regarding legal age limits, Ms. Khattab said the law in Timor-Leste permitted children of 12 to engage in "light" labour. What was "light" employment? The age of sexual consent and the marriage age, which was 15 years old for females and 18 for males, was also of concern and was highly discriminatory for girls. What was being done to combat that? Further, while the age of criminal responsibility had been set at 12 years for major crimes and 17 for major ones, reports had been received that the police treated all children as criminally responsible for even minor offences. There was also no information about a minimum school-leaving age, and she asked for further information.

Other issues of concern for Ms. Khattab included measures to protect children working in the informal sector, such as domestic workers; programmes to protect and promote the rights of the girl child; and low birth registration, new measures to ensure registration, and the difference between baptism certificates and birth certificates and their legal status. Finally, what progress had been made to reunite Timorese children separated from their families following the forced separation agreement?

Other Experts then raised concerns and asked questions on a number of subjects. Several Experts echoed the apparent confusion between the planned Government policy-making body on children and an independent monitoring body. Other concerns included the lack of a social security system for children; the lack of reliable disaggregated data on children; teaching about religions in school, aside from the three religions legally identified for teaching; the scope of children's right to expression in the school context; and the high infant and under-five mortality rate.

Response by the Delegation

Responding to these questions and others, Ms. Lobato said that she would like to begin by making some corrections. Regarding religions, in the Constitution there was a guarantee to freedom of religion. There were a number of religions in Timor-Leste, although more than 90 per cent were Catholics. There was a good relationship among them.

As for birth registry, that was a responsibility that fell under the Ministry of Justice. A baptism certificate was not necessary for a birth certificate. All that was necessary was for two witnesses to verify the facts, Ms. Lobato explained. In terms of future plans, the Government had signed a memorandum with civil society, and was working with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to ensure that all children in the country were registered. They had already finished the registration process in 12 of the country's 13 districts. Registration in the last district, Dili, would begin soon.

As for legal ages, it was not true about the limits of 12 and 15. According to Timor-Leste's draft Code of Criminal Procedure, the age of legal responsibility was 16. The legal age limits mentioned were just the hold over from the previous Indonesian legal system, Ms. Lobato clarified.

The Timor-Leste Constitution stated very clearly that customary law was recognized, but in cases of conflict with international laws or fundamental rights, that customary law would be automatically invalidated. The problem was that that law needed to be made public, Ms. Lobato stressed. In that regard, a programme had already started to raise awareness among the legal community about the new laws, including the Public Prosecutor's Office.

As for Government-civil society partnerships and cooperation, they were working very well and very closely together, Ms. Lobato said. The Government had allocated around $ 5 million to provide assistance to non-governmental organizations. The Government had a good relationship with non-governmental organizations and was committed to keeping up that good relationship. Much good work was being done by such organizations.

Ms. Lobato wished to hammer home the basic problems faced by the country as 40 per cent of the population lived on less than 50 cents a day and there was a high level of unemployment, high dependence on agriculture, a limited private sector, a large size of households and an inability to meet basic needs. Nevertheless the commitment of the Government to improve the situation remained strong. One way that it did that was by using international assistance. A discussion was needed on how that international assistance would be allocated. The Government's position was that it should have input into how that money was routed.

The National Human Rights Action Plan identified six priority areas: education, health, justice, security, agriculture and infrastructure. But it was a bit of conundrum: how could poverty be addressed without basic infrastructure, such as roads, electricity and clean drinking water? Ms. Lobato would have more information sent to the Committee on what was being done to address those six priority areas.

Concerning legislation, and in particular the question of legal ages, that would be taken up in all the new draft Codes that were being worked on. However, it was guaranteed under the Constitution that ratified international instruments were automatically and directly applicable in the courts. What was needed was the assistance of the Committee, as well as international assistance, to make those laws known throughout the country.

With regard to the Ombudsman's Office, Ms. Lobato wished to clarify a misunderstanding. The Ombudsman's Office was a constitutional body, elected for a term of four years. It was not specifically designed to deal with children's rights, but all rights. The Ombudsman's Office was an independent body to receive complaints of human rights violations. At the same time it would refer those complaints to other institutions. For example, the Ombudsman could instigate an investigation on corruption on its own, and then refer it to the Public Prosecutor's Office. The National Commission for the Rights of the Child would be mandated not just to monitor, but also to establish policy on children's issues.

An Expert then intervened to express the Committee's position more clearly. What was problematic was to establish a National Commission that was both tasked with developing policies for children and monitoring the rights of children. What was needed was an outside, independent monitoring authority.

Ms. Lobato responded that, to date, the Ombudsman had not received any complaints from children, but that did not mean that it did not care about them. The Expert's idea was an excellent one. Perhaps they should consider setting up a special panel within the Ombudsman's office targeting the rights of the child.

Turning to the issue of discrimination, responding on the specific issue of discrimination against children of the militias, and why the law distinguished them, Ms. Lobato said it was a complicated issue. The distinction in the law had been made because it was trying to provide for the right of those who wished to stay in the country following independence not to be forced to leave.

As for children's views and their right to be heard in decisions that concerned them, Timor-Leste did not yet have a law on children's participation in the country. The President had promised it, but they did not have it yet, Ms. Lobato said.

Concerning education issues, Ms. Lobato said that there were nine years of compulsory education in Timor-Leste. School was free, and it was compulsory from ages 7 to 15.

Further Questions by Experts

During the second round of questions, the Rapporteur Mr. Zermatten said that, while it was clear it would take a long time to put in place mechanisms to enforce any new legislation, there were some immediately pressing issues. The theme of violence within the family, in particular the use of corporal punishment, should be addressed. That was also an issue in the educational setting.

There were only six social workers in the whole country, and they were located in the capital, Mr. Zermatten pointed out. The Government should prioritise the training of a corps of social workers, with specializations in the care of children and in youth justice issues.

Turning to the issue of street children, this was a huge problem in the country, owing to the poverty of the population. It looked as if most of the street children did have a place to live, but they were a vulnerable group at high risk for sexual exploitation, among others.

As for juvenile justice, despite what the Minister had just declared, according to the report, the age limits for criminal responsibility in place were unacceptable. In addition those between 16 and 18 were treated as adults and did not benefit from the protections of the Convention.

The co-Rapporteur Ms. Khattab asked what Timor-Leste had done to implement the conclusions of the United Nations Study on Violence against Children.

Other Experts asked further questions on topics including a number of questions on education. Among others, whether the information just provided by the Minister about the number of years of free, compulsory education was enshrined in legislation; whether a special education policy had been adopted; teacher education programmes; whether there was a satisfactory school feeding programme; plans to increase the number and quality of early education programmes; what were the reasons for the high drop-out rate; what programmes existed to assist the population that dropped out of school early, including vocational training programmes; what was the Government educational policy in dealing with the multiple languages used by the population; and low enrolment rates.

Response by Delegation

The Minister turned the floor over to other members of her delegation to respond to those questions and others. On the legal status of the rule that school attendance was free and compulsory for nine years, the delegation said there was a need to confirm what legal instrument set out that rule. However, nine years of compulsory education was incorporated both in the national action plan and in the budget for the Ministry of Education for 2008. In the budget, there were also allocations to cover merit-based scholarships, and to provide assistance to needy families to help cover education costs.

The Government received support from the World Food Programme for a school feeding programme. In the new budget, the Government had also allocated some funds for this country-wide programme, the delegation added.

There had been a lot of progress made in the child-friendly school programme. There were 500 such schools, with teacher training and parent-teacher associations, and it was hoped to expand that to 900 schools in the near future.

The Ministry of Education was carrying out teacher training for primary and secondary education, funded by the Government with help from UNICEF. More needed to be done, however, the delegation agreed.

As for corporal punishment, there was a case currently being brought against a police officer who had carried out corporal punishment within the school setting against a student. That showed that the Government was taking action in this area, the delegation said.

Responding to a query about the high dropout rate, school fees were not the primary question, as compulsory education was free, the delegation said. Poverty was the biggest challenge. Most families were struggling to put food on the table. One programme to encourage attendance was the free school feeding programme.

There were two official languages in use in Timor-Leste – Tetum and Portuguese – but they were still using the Indonesian language in the schools. This was not really a problem. It had to be understood that this was a transitional period. The schools had to use a language that the children understood. They had already moved, however, to using Portuguese and Tetum for early schooling. However, approximately three quarters of children spoke one of 14 languages other than either Tetum or Portuguese, so that still remained a problem in education delivery.

Turning to child protection issues, the delegation said that the Government was working to extend protections. To do so, it had set up the Child Protection Network, which was currently in place in three districts and was expected to be operational throughout the country in the near future.

Specifically with regard to the United Nations Study on Violence against Children, work was being undertaken to put in place programmes to promote respect for the views of the child.

In terms of discrimination between girls and boys, it would not be possible to deny that it existed in some parts of Timor-Leste. In some parts of the State, only boys had inheritance rights, for example. However, in others, girls had the right to inherit. More attention was still needed, and the Government was committed to that. In the education field, gender discrimination was also a big issue.

Contrary to what Experts had asserted, the draft Children's Code was a priority of the Government, the delegation insisted. It was working on this also in cooperation with international organizations, in particular UNICEF, which had helped them in drafting laws on children. The new juvenile justice machinery would be set up in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The public consultations on juvenile justice had now been completed, and it was hoped that a completed draft text for the Children's Code would be ready for submission to Parliament by the end of the year. The draft law would then have another public hearing when it was consider by Parliament, the delegation said.

Further Question by Experts

In a third round of questions, Experts focused on what alternative measures were being taken to reduce the quite large number of children that were in institutional care; what was being done to improve the substandard conditions in the country's childcare institutions; whether there was effective health education in place for boys and girls, including on questions of sexual health, nutritional health, mental health, and on promotion of healthy lifestyles; and what was being done to address the fact that, along with one of the highest fertility rate in the world (7 to 8 children per woman), there was also a very high risk for women, with 600 to 800 mortalities per 100,000 live births. In particular, an Expert recommended that community-based programmes be put in place to ameliorate the maternal health situation. Another Expert asked what international assistance was being received for children's health programmes, and whether there was a national strategy to address this issue. Timor-Leste did have a national strategy on disabilities, but what was being done to institute preventive measures and keep children from becoming disabled?

Given a lack of domestic legislation on the subject at present, Timorese children who were adopted internationally were currently unprotected, an Expert pointed out. The Committee recommended that Timor-Leste put a moratorium on all international adoptions until it adopted appropriate legislation in this field. In that connection, the Committee could organize technical assistance to do that, and it was also recommended that Timor-Leste adopt the Hague Convention on Adoption.

While it was understood that poverty had a serious impact on children, Timor-Leste could not simply concentrate on an economic objective in its poverty reduction strategy, an Expert emphasized. Any poverty reduction strategy, to be truly effective, had to have a focus on children and mothers.

Further Responses by the Delegation

In response to the third round of questions, on the issue of health and nutrition, the delegation said the Government had adopted a health programme last December called the SISCA (Sistema Integradu Saude Communitaria) health programme. The Government was working together with a number of programmes to implement the SISCA programme and enormous efforts were being undertaken. The funding had been earmarked, and UNICEF was also providing assistance. For example, under this programme, on the issue of HIV/AIDS, the Government of Brazil was providing anti-retroviral drugs.

Indeed, because there were no regulations in place on adoption, the Government had suspended all adoptions for the time being. There was also at present no identified body to regulate the issue of adoption in the country. The moratorium on adoptions would remain in force until the new legislation was in place, the delegation underscored.

Portuguese was the only language used at the moment in the judicial sphere. That, and the fact that there were not enough judges was indeed a problem, the delegation said. The law permitted international recruitment to fill that gap. What was being done to address the language issue, as a transitional measure, was to use interpreters and translators in the courts. When there were enough qualified justice personnel from Timor-Leste, then the issue of language would be addressed.

In terms of realistic timeframes, it was true that it was probably not realistic that a Children's Code would be drafted and adopted by the end of the year. There was simply too much to be done, and too much other basic legislation that needed to be enacted. But the Government was paying attention, and was working towards this goal. While several Committee members had voiced the need for a single, comprehensive, unified code on children, this was also an option that would take more time than adopting several laws in targeted areas where there were urgent gaps. It had not been decided which option to choose at this time, the delegation said.

The co-Rapporteur, Ms. Khattab, interjected here that there was a strong preference on the Committee's part for the choice of a single, unified Children's Law. Technical assistance was available to do that, and model laws had already been draw up that could be followed. Working with technical assistance, Timor-Leste could draft a unified children's code in record time. This was especially important because if they did not start with a unified law, they would likely find themselves in need of revisiting and revising any legislation adopted in an ad hoc manner.

The delegation responded that if that was the position of the whole Committee, it would certainly be given due weight and taken into serious consideration before promulgating any laws in this area.

Responding to the issue of the short school day for children in Timor-Leste, the delegation pointed out that, during this transitional phase, in the morning the teachers were working in the classroom, and then in the afternoon were themselves learning in teacher training sessions. So for the moment they were doing the best they could. Quality in schools was important, they were working towards it, but it would take some time.

The delegation stressed that education was one of the priorities of the Government. There were altogether 1,500 schools throughout the territory, but there were also private schools, including religious run schools and those run by non-governmental organizations. There was a policy in place to increase the number of schools in rural areas. However, the situation in the rural areas was such that the people were living in very remote areas, that were difficult to access, and they also lived in small communities of 10 or 20 individuals. That presented a great challenge. The first goal was to get an assessment of how many children were in those areas.

The reality was that fewer girls than boys attended school. To combat that, public awareness was a key issue, and the Government had tried to invest a great deal in that area, both from the regular budget and with the assistance of multilateral and bilateral assistance. Timor-Leste still suffered from a patriarchal social system that guaranteed men more rights than women but it was working hard to combat that.

The student/teacher ratio was 35 to 40 students per teacher in any given classroom. A first group of 80 teachers had graduated from the teacher-training programme, which was ongoing. The education budget included funds for publishing school texts, with financial support from Brazil and Portugal, the delegation added.

On maternal child health, local mothers' groups did exist and they were assisted by the Alola Foundation that worked to improve maternal health, the delegation confirmed.

Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

YANGHEE LEE, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the Report on the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, said that the whole issue of birth registration and proof of age was a critical one for this Optional Protocol, which sought to prevent the voluntary or forced recruitment of children under the age of 18. Having looked at the law of Timor-Leste, she had found no applicable law in this area. Moreover, the fact that a birth certificate could be issued simply by finding three witnesses to testify to the child's birth date did not contain sufficient guarantees.

As for those children who had been involved in armed conflict and had since been demobilized, the effects on children were still far-reaching, Ms. Lee stressed. What services were available for such children?

Other Experts then raised a number of issues, including what educational services were available for children who had been involved in armed conflict, including catering to their special needs, and peace education. An Expert was concerned that the East Timor Defense Force was made up exclusively of volunteers, and it was open to enlistment by those under 18. As he understood it, that Defence Force could be called up in a case of war, and its members would be directly involved in hostilities. In their report, the Government had noted that the law on the Defence Force had been set up before its accession to the Optional Protocol. However, now that the Optional Protocol had been ratified, was there no possibility of amending that law and bringing it into accord? An Expert wondered whether there was a provision criminalizing the recruitment of children under the age of 18 in the new draft Penal Code.

Experts said that it appeared that Timor-Leste had done nothing with regard to incorporation of the provisions of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict into its legislation. An Expert stressed that, whereas they understood the challenges Timor-Leste faced in this area, the Government should be aware that in ratifying the Protocol it had obligated itself to do this. It was hoped that the Government would, without delay, identify laws that needed to be put in place in a priority basis to give effective to the Protocol's key provisions, and asked that a strategy be adopted to ensure that. An Expert said it was not as if steps had been taken by Timor-Leste and those efforts needed to be improved. Nothing had been done. Ninety per cent of the Protocol involved the necessity for the State to enact laws, which had not been done. Indeed, perhaps the Protocol should not have been reported on at this stage.

Discussion on the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

The delegation, responding to questions posed by Experts on the implementation of this Optional Protocol, said that great efforts had been made to disseminate the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict at the national level. They were also trying to implement the Protocol in all the different districts of the country, working to set up integrating services and institutional systems throughout the State. Timor-Leste also gave a very important role to ensuring that the principles of the Protocol were respected.

The political will was there, but given the challenges the Government faced on the ground, it had been impossible to implement the Protocol, the delegation emphasized. In particular, the major military crisis of 2006 had made that impossible. However, in Timor-Leste children did not possess weapons; that could not be allowed, as it would be harmful for the country. A regulation had been adopted in 2001 in that regard. Then, following the 2006 crisis, regulations had been put in place to prevent anyone from possessing weapons, except for the police or the Armed Forces. There was a draft law in the works on martial arts as well.

In terms of machinery to implement the provisions of the Protocol, the delegation said that the Ombudsman's Office worked to ensure that citizens’ rights were not violated, and that any violations were redressed, and there were also non-governmental organizations that worked in this area, providing legal assistance.

An Expert asked if there were any particular plans for social assistance for rehabilitation and reinsertion into society for former child soldiers or other children affected by armed conflict.

The delegation said that as far as they were aware, there was not currently a problem in the country with children using weapons or becoming involved in armed gangs. On the other hand, there were groups that were involved in martial arts, and the Government was working to combat that. What had happened was that groups of children that practised martial arts as a sporting practice had been exploited by third parties in the context of the turmoil in the country. The laws sought to formalize the situation of such martial arts groups, in particular to clarify the responsibilities of the founders of such groups to the community, and to prevent any future problems. It also set an age limit of 17 for membership in such a group.

As for programmes to help former child soldiers, the delegation said that, other than information in the report, which covered the period to 2004, there was no data about such groups.

Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

AGNES AKOSUA AIDOO, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the Report on the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, commended the Government on its participatory approach to its reports, on its new children's rights machinery, and other efforts. However, there were concerns with regard to the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

The first concern was that the lack of data and statistics in this area meant that the Government would not have a clear picture of the extent of the problems and that the formulation of policies and the development of programmes to prevent the sale of children or to rehabilitate them would not be easy. Since the National Statistics Directorate had been established, how quickly could the Government strengthen its capacity so that it could provide data in this area, Ms. Aidoo asked.

In that connection, Ms. Aidoo very much hoped that the National Commission on the Rights of the Child would indeed be operational by June 2008. There was a serious need for coordination of children's rights issues. In particular she wanted to know if the Ombudsman's Office had a separate focus on children, which was responsible for monitoring implementation of this Optional Protocol.

Ms. Aidoo was particularly surprised that there were no targeted awareness-raising campaigns in place on the Optional Protocol, nor focused programmes devoted to the issues it covered.

There was no information in the report about the sale of children. There was only one anecdote in the initial report on the question, and in its replies to questions Timor-Leste had said that it had no further information on this subject. In that context, when would the National Plan on Human Trafficking be finalized? Further, while the report said that there "was little evidence of the sale of children in Timor-Leste", Ms. Aidoo had had information that village leaders and families were being approached to sell children for labour purposes, and also that camps for internally displaced persons were being targeted. Geographically, Timor-Leste was strategically placed among countries where child trafficking was rife, so international trafficking, as well as domestic trafficking was of concern.

There was also little information in the report on child pornography. Ms. Aidoo said she would appreciate information on what measures were being taken to prevent both the influx of videos containing child pornography into the country, to prevent its domestic production, and to prevent children's access to pornography. In addition, what programmes were in place to provide for the physical and psychosocial health of child victims of offences under the Protocol? In that regard, the Committee welcomed that a police unit had been set up with a focus on this area.

Other Experts then raised a number of concerns, including the lack of legislation in areas related to the Protocol, as well as the lack of harmonization between existing legislation and the Protocol. While the report had said there was not a real problem of sale of children in the country, an Expert pointed out that forced marriage, which did exist in Timor-Leste, and forced labour of children, could also in cases fit the definition of the sale of children. The Indonesian Criminal Code did not punish prostitution or pornography, and this had left a big protection gap for Timor-Leste. Given information in the report that the draft Criminal Code contained provisions on pornography, an Expert wondered if it referred to or reflected the obligations set out in the Optional Protocol. Finally, an Expert voiced concern about the presence of peacekeeping operations in Timor-Leste and the scope that gave for sexual violations of minors and wondered if there was any information about that.

Discussion on the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

Turning to the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, the delegation said that the Government still had limited information on the sale of children, but it would work closely with social services to try and identify any such cases.

As for trafficking, a working group on human trafficking had been established five years ago, the delegation said. While the law on human trafficking had not yet been adopted, there had been steps taken to prevent trafficking in children: the Penal Code had been updated, in line with international treaties; information on trafficking had been disseminated and information material provided to the media; and training had been conducted in this area for the police and the National Armed Forces.

The Rapporteur for the report under this Protocol, Ms. Aidoo, asked if Timor-Leste would consider undertaking a series of studies on the sale, trafficking and prostitution of children in the country. There was no information in the State party's report that showed where the real problems lay, which groups were involved, etc. So it was impossible to formulate a strategy to combat these areas. A study was needed. Also, preventive work was necessary.

An Expert asked what provisions existed in Timor-Leste to prosecute a foreigner who entered the country, bought a child from its parents, and left the country.

The delegation said that no such cases existed at the present moment. At present there were no particular legal regulations in place to deal with that situation, but the Government was looking to both bolster regulations in place, and to incorporate specific provisions in a new Penal Code. In addition, a month ago the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Administration, and the Police and Immigration came to an agreement on monitoring of borders, which should effectively strengthen protections for children in such situations.

With regard to prostitution, the police were working to combat prostitution rings. It should be noted that, under Indonesian law currently in place, there were only penal provisions for those involving children under 17 in prostitution. There were also preventive measures in place to protect and ensure promotion of human rights, in particular with regard to the right to privacy, the delegation said. Moreover, a draft law on prostitution had already been submitted to the Council of Ministers, which, among others, criminalized the exploitation of persons for the purposes of prostitution.

Ms. Aidoo, the Rapporteur, noted that it was not a question of general laws on prostitution. The Optional Protocol itself set out quite clearly the contents of a provision criminalizing child prostitution and what was needed was a specific penal provision in this area in any new law. A number of Experts then echoed the same point, further clarifying that the issue of the legalization of prostitution was a "hot potato" that was not really something the Committee wanted or needed to address here.

Responding to an Expert who made a point about the link between prostitution and poverty, the delegation said that prostitution was indeed very closely linked to poverty, which was one of the Government's six priority action areas. In that sense, it could be seen that the Government was taking very wide action to prevent poverty.

The delegation noted that there was a special unit in the Public Prosecutor's Office to deal with issues under the Protocol, with 11 staff, and there was also a police unit that was being set up in this area. But the need for legislation on these subjects was the priority issue here.

An Expert, pointed out that, along with legislation, a national action plan was an obligation for this Protocol, and asked if that was currently contemplated, or possible, or if it could be part of a national plan, and within what sort of timeframe. The delegation said that the present national development plan was now considered out of date. What was currently being contemplated was a new five-year renewable national action plan. They would look into incorporating specific provisions relevant to the Optional Protocol in the section devoted to children.

Preliminary Concluding Observations

MOUSHIRA KHATTAB, the Committee Expert serving as co-Rapporteur for the Report of Timor-Leste, in preliminary concluding observations, thanked the delegation for their presence and the dialogue with them. The Committee was fully aware of the constraints faced by Timor-Leste, as a young nation with limited resources. However, the Committee had received good signs and signals from the report, which was well written, and from the fact that Timor-Leste had sent such a high-level delegation to address the Committee. The Committee was keen that what had been invested so far in the reporting process would not end there but would extend to the implementation of the rights of the child, as stipulated by the Convention.

In its observations, the Committee would stress that – even given the constraints facing Timor-Leste – it would need to implement a minimum core package of measures. Such measures would not be confined to one or two areas but would by nature be multisectoral. With children it could not be a question of health alone or birth registration or education alone, as each achievement would feed into each other. The Committee would expect Timor-Leste to start immediately to implement that core package. To do so, they would need to draw on assistance from international partners, including United Nations partners. The concluding observations would also urge Timor-Leste to put in place urgently legislation to protect the child, whether or not they decided to implement a comprehensive Children's Code. The Committee would also emphasize the need to mainstream the right of the child to be heard and the need to consider the best interests of the child in any decision concerning them. A data collection system was also needed, which was disaggregated to allow the Government to target particularly vulnerable groups. Further, the Committee would urge that Timor-Leste act quickly to implement birth registration for all in a process that was free of charge. It would also recommend that education was truly compulsory, and free, and that any hidden costs be removed. Infant and under-five mortality rates and maternal mortality rates were also priority areas for action. Finally, awareness-raising on children's rights issues was not just for the public, the Government also had to be made aware. It was the best investment that could be made for the country's future.

In additional preliminary observations, YANGHEE LEE, Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the Report on the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, recognized that the law in Timor-Leste provided an age limit of 18 years for those who enlisted in the Armed Services. However, the Committee would expect Timor-Leste to formulate a specific provision to criminalize the recruitment of those under age 18. Birth registration, in particular, formed a critical part of the guarantee that children would not be recruited, and that was an area that needed to be worked on. Provision of assistance and counselling for former child soldiers was necessary and it was hoped that rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for such children would be put in place. Finally, it was hoped that the Optional Protocol would be widely disseminated, especially among children and parents, as well as the relevant Government departments. Similarly, the concluding observations of the Committee should be widely publicized.

Also making preliminary remarks, AGNES AKOSUA AIDOO, Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the Report on the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, again thanked the delegation, and recognized the Government's political will to help children. The Committee understood the special circumstances of Timor-Leste, and recognized that the current Government had only been in power for five months. However, along with the difficulties and challenges, there were also opportunities – to implement and take steps to combat the sale of children or those involved in prostitution and child pornography. Ms. Aidoo recommended that the Government work very quickly to set up a database and gather information about children in this area. Recommendations would also be made on what legislation had to be adopted and implemented right away to give effect to the Protocol, in particular to cover the offences covered by the Protocol in the national Penal Code. It would also make recommendations on procedures to protect children who were victims of crimes under the Protocol. Finally public awareness, dissemination of the Protocol, and knowledge creation in the country about its provisions were needed – one that reached all Government departments, all professionals that worked with children, the media, the parents and, above all, the children, so that they could know their rights and stand up for them. Services had to be put in place for the social, physical and psychological recovery of victims. The Committee would also urge Timor-Leste to adopt as soon as possible the national trafficking legislation, and to ratify as soon as possible ILO Conventions 138 and 182, and the Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.


For use of the information media; not an official record

CRC08003E